UP cancels police recruitment process after paper leak (Lead)

Lucknow, July 25 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday cancelled the complete recruitment process of Sub-Inspectors after allegations of paper leak, said Director General of Police Sulkhan Singh.

The recruitment process was underway since July 17 and was to go on till July 31.

The DGP said that the special task force (STF) of the UP Police has been asked to probe the paper leak.

On Monday, two exams to be held on July 25 and 26 were cancelled but now the decision has been taken to cancel the entire examination process, he said.

It was for the first time an online examination was being conducted in 22 districts of the state for police recruitment. New dates for the exam will be announced after the STF probe is complete.

ADG (Law and Order) Anand Kumar said the company conducting the exams will be lodging an FIR in the case and added that a preliminary probe has revealed that that the system had been hacked at the company level.

The recruitment for posts of Sub-Inspectors (2,707 males and 600 females) were to be done in the civil police, fire department and the Provincial Armed Constabulary. The vacancies were floated in 2016 and 6.30 lakh-plus applications were received.

Meanwhile, the Tata Consultancy Services, which has been named as the technical service provider by sections of the media for the online exams, has refuted any association with the exams.

“TCS is not associated in any manner with the UP Police Recruitment exams. News reports on TCS providing technical services to these exams are hence factually incorrect and completely erroneous.” a company spokesperson told IANS.